Padres players talk about how their fathers impacted their lives

Padres players talk about how their fathers impacted their lives

- When I was, I don't remember, probably like 6-ish, something, I got a new tee-ball bat. And we were at my grandparent's house. So me and my dad went outside to, like, throw it around and hit a little bit. And we were playing catch. And for some reason, I was standing directly in front of the window. And he claims that it went off my glove. But I think he completely airmailed me. And he just sent it right through my grandma's window. And she was not very happy about that one. But it was kind of funny. Because it was just kind of that stereotypical scenario where you're playing baseball and you break a window and the grandma gets mad. So I think-- I always thought that was funny.

- You know, he just always coached me coming up in Little League. And, you know, basically my whole life, he'd always throw me BP's, everything like that. One memory, I mean he would throw me BP with no L screen. And I'd just hit balls right back at him and wear him out. But that's one memory.

- Yeah, so it was kind of a pretty cool situation. So he-- I have an older brother, and he would coach him, just first son, you know, coaching him, stuff like that, coaching all of his friends. And when I would get done with my practice in Little League, his practice would always go a little bit later. So I would hop over to his practice and get reps with these older guys. So it was a good scenario for me playing with those guys and playing at a level that I probably wasn't used to and getting better that way.

- Yeah, he coached me all through Little League. And he was always there to play catch and throw. Batting practice, we used to always play pepper in the front yard. He would hit me ground balls like off the pavement and then into the grass. So we had a blast playing baseball together. That was a big part of me growing up. And, you know, he loved baseball too. And we shared that affinity for the game.

- Oh, yeah, I just remember him coming home from long shifts at the fire station. And me and my brother would just be waiting for him to come home and take us out and just head out to the field and do whatever. So I remember that pretty clearly. And I know my brother does as well.